Easy
by O'Donoghue
Summary: A short story of how easy it is to see things differently.


Easy.

Disclaimer: These characters are not mine. They belong to the wonderful Rumiko Takahashi and her licensees (Viz Communications in North America). This work is strictly for the non-profit enjoyment of fans. No copyright infringement is intended.

The moonless night was pitch dark except for the area illuminated by the paper lanterns, gently floating around the young couple's row boat. The young man in the dark kimono gazed lovingly at the beautiful brown-eyed woman before him as he idly flicked his pigtail back over his shoulder.

The young woman in a matching kimono brushed some stray hairs back over her ear as she gazed back into his handsome face and caring blue eyes. Slowly she began to lean up to her fiance, knowing she was his and he was hers.

His arms snaked around her waist, drawing them together. One of his arms stayed hugging her back as the other traced up her side, crossing onto her arm, following over her shoulder and up her neck. Gently it caressed her cheek before it moulded onto her jaw line and drew her forward, towards his own lips to join them physically as were their hearts.

The kiss slowly got hungrier and the grip around her waist tightened. The man broke the connection between their lips to begin forging a trail up her jaw. The woman shivered with each of the quick kisses her lover bestowed, the shivers strengthening with anticipation of what was to come.

The kisses suddenly stoped and she could feel his warm breath on her neck and ear. She could feel his excitement in his heavier breathing. She was shivering, needing his touch to return.  
Then she felt his tongue on her ear. Wet and slobbering around.

Akane sat up in the futon like a shot, one hand raised to her wet ear and the other ready to hit Ranma for being a idiot. The giggling of her friends brought forth the memories of last night's slumber party. Sparing a dirty look for Michi and Sayuri, she turned to glare at the host and birthday girl with her tiny brown puppy in her hands. Yuka had received the small puppy for her birthday yesterday and had called it Hiro.

Akane gave up the glare, and settled for big stretch.

"Oh, did Hiro interrupt a good dream about Ranma?" Sayuri's voice was full of false sympathy.

Akane couldn't speak through an emerging yawn, and just nodded as she held her stretch. At least till her lethargic brain remembered the subject. Her arms came down quick with warding signs and her head shook with denial, but before any words came out her friends were laughing.

"Busted!" Sayuri crowed as the girls laughed over Akane's denials before Yuka finally took a little pity on her friend.

"It must have been brought on by those movies we watched last night. Right, Akane?"

The four girls looked over at the small stack of videos beside the player, each remembering moments till all grinned and dove to grab one in particular to replay a specific scene.

The envious sighs could be heard through the house as the four watched the handsome hero coming back to the heroine rather than pursue the career that would tear them apart, before picking her up into his arms, looking into her eyes, and leaning in to kiss her deeply.

As the scene closed the video was stoped, but it didn't take long for Sayuri to begin prodding Akane. "Is that what you and Ranma were up to, dream girl?"

"Ha, that dummy couldn't be that romantic if his life depended on it." She blushed slightly at some thoughts about Ranma being that romantic, like when he had dressed up and tried to win over Tsubasa to liking boys, ignorant of the fact Tsubasa was a guy.

Seeing the blush, Michi jumped in, "Oooh, did something more happen between you and Ranma in Ryuugenzawa?"

Akane tried to hold it but her blush grew with the thought of Ranma's actions over that trip only a week before.

Stammering her denials she opened fire with all available pillows.

* * *

Mousse nursed his jaw as he walked back to the Neko Hanten. "The jerk. I was the one that helped him out," he mumbled sullenly to himself.

He had been heading to the market to grab some supplies for work when he had come across a cook wrestling with a small back piglet over what was today's main course. Ryoga had been lucky that Mousse had even recognised him. Moments later the half blind duck boy had run off to a quiet alley where he could change the lost boy back.

It was just bad luck that the alley was actually an access to the St. Hebereke's girls school sports field and just as he changed the lost boy back into an under-dressed man, the St. Hebereke's girls hockey team came past doing laps of the field.

Ryoga hadn't taken it well.

Mousse grumbled a bit more as he walked home thinking ideas about splashing the lost boy and selling him as pork buns. It was then the voice of his tormentor interrupted his musings.

"Hey, Mousse, what's happening? Get in a fight?"

Ranma Saotome had been getting some stuff from the market for Kasumi and was coming back when he spotted the Chinese boy and the growing bruise on his chin.

"Go away, Saotome." He said trying to ignore the pigtailed martial artist.

"Shampoo again, huh?"

"No! My Shampoo would never do that!"

Ranma raised one eyebrow as he looked at him. "Yeah, right. If not Shampoo then who? The old ghoul?"

"Ryoga."

"Ryoga? Why? What did you do to set him off?"

Mousse opened his mouth to reply when he realised it was the perfect revenge on the lost boy. Wind up Ranma and send him after Ryoga, let them beat the stuffing out of each other, then beat up the victor. Now, what sets off Ranma...

"I just bumped into him in the street. He started on that I was spying on him."

Ranma scratched his head trying to figure it out, "What was he doing?"

Mousse looked down to hide the grin tugging at his face as he did the next bit. "I don't know. He was just on the side of the street, down on one knee before a statue with a tiny jewellery box. The only thing I heard him say before he went off at me was 'Akane'." Mousse peered up to see if it had worked and noticed Ranma had already vanished.

Looking around, he jumped atop a telegraph pole to see if he could spot the pig tailed martial artist but wherever he was, he was long gone. "Dammit, how am I supposed to beat up the winner if I don't know where you're fighting?"

* * *

Ranma arrived at the Tendo Dojo in a matter of seconds and burst through the door, nearly bowling Nabiki over.

"Hey, what the hell was that for?"

Ranma didn't even acknowledge her question as her began a room-by-room search of the house. "Here, Piggy piggy piggy."

Nabiki just blinked at being ignored, but had to run to catch her sisters fiance as he went upstairs. She was about to get his attention when he walked into Kasumi's room without knocking, still calling for the piglet.

Kasumi gave an 'eep' as Ranma burst into her room apparently calling for P-Chan. If he had been half a minute earlier, she wouldn't have been fully dressed. Even more unnerving was the wild look in his blue eyes. "Ranma, what do you think you're doing?"

Ranma stood up suddenly from his looking, somehow snapping out of the panic he had been in. "Oh, Kasumi, ah, here's the stuff you wanted." He shoved the shopping bag he was still holding towards her. "Have you seen Ryoga or P-Chan?"

"What? I haven't seen either of them. What's going on, Ranma?"

"That's what I want to know." Nabiki added from the door way.

Ranma was still looking around as he tried to make a comprehensible answer. "Can't explain, just if you see Ryoga or P-Chan get them out of the house and keep them away from Akane."

Nabiki was faster on the draw then her sister. "Why? What's wrong with them seeing her?"

"Please. I can't explain, we just got to keep him away from Akane."

"Why? And why keep him out of the house? Akane isn't here so..."

"What? Where is she?"

Nabiki took a step back at the panic in his eyes, wondering what was going on. "She was at a slumber party at Yuka's, remember? What is going on, Ranma?"

They only heard part of Ranma's reply as he opened the window and was flipping to the roof. "Just keep him away fr..."

* * *

Ranma ran like the wind itself for Yuka's house, scene after scene repeating in his mind. All with one thing in common. Akane Tendo. He may not understand her, but there were so many of his memories that she was in.

Landing in the yard he tore up to the porch, and rapped quickly on the door.

Akane, Yuka, and Yuka's mother were returning up the stairs with breakfast for the girls when they heard the sudden furious pounding on the door. Yuka's mother made her way back down and looked through a side window and let out a relieved sigh as she saw Akane's fiance. Opening the door she began with a slight scolding after the fright he had given her.

"Young man..."

Ranma saw past the woman to Akane, who was still on the stairs with a tray of food in her hands. "Akane!" He darted into the house and took the tray from her hands with one hand and grabbing her left hand with the other, turning it over repeatedly to make sure there was no ring.

All three women were speechless as Ranma let out a sigh and seemed to calm from the panic he was in. He looked up again before any could ask him anything. "Has Ryoga been here?"

"Ryoga? No. Ranma what's going on?"

"Ah, Can I talk to you?" Without waiting for a reply he dragged her back out the front stopping only to hand Yuka's mother the tray of breakfast Akane had been carrying. Shutting the door he continued to drag her out off the porch.

"Ranma, what is going on?" Akane asked trying to figure out what was going on and what had him so worked up.

He stopped, turning back to her. He seemed to be studying her face and building up his will for something. "Ah, look, Akane, I... we're not that unhappy with the... the engagement... right? I mean we only fight to keep our parents and the others off our backs, and for fun, right? I mean, I'm not ready to be a husband, but I do llll... care about you. And you do... kinda... care for me... right?"

Akane just looked into the blue eyes staring at her with her wide brown eyes. Her mouth opened and closed several times, before she gave up. Reaching out her hand she drew him closer, stretching on her toes, to kiss him firmly on the lips.

Ranma froze, suddenly frightened by Akane's behaviour but after few heart beats his arms encircled her as he began to move into the kiss, his eyes closing.

Akane was lost in her dreams as she felt the arrogant jerk who had become such an impossible part of her life returning her kiss. He'd finally declared he loved her, well at least as much as she was going to get out of the hopeless idiot for now.

The pair were interrupted by the whistles and cheers of Akane's friends leaning out of the window from the room over the porch Ranma had pulled her off for privacy. Both blushed badly and Ranma tried to jump back away from her but with neither of their arms obeying the order to release the other, Akane was simply dragged with him.

Akane was about to yell at her friends when he saw Yuka had gone pale and was pointing out to the street. The two followed the direction to see Shampoo sitting on her bike in the street, her delivery box dropped to the ground, her eyes glaring balefully at Akane.

Akane was initially scared at the glare but smirked in confidence since her fiance still had his arms around her, ignoring the fact he was already sputtering out some sort of excuse. She yelled over him at the Chinese rival no more.

"Hey Shampoo, check it out, this is how an 'Airen' is supposed to act!"

Ranma's wide blue eyes stared at his fiancee after her goading statement, but before he could ask of her sanity she latched on arm onto his neck and brought his head down to kiss him.

Akane put all she had into the kiss but to her horror Ranma wasn't returning it. He had locked up, his lips hard and closed. Thinking quickly she shifted to anger and rammed her free hand into his gut. His breath whooshed from his lungs, his mouth opening and her tongue slipping inside.

Ranma's initial pain from his fiancee's punch quickly vanished, replaced by the amazing feel of Akane pushing against him, her tongue sliding and pushing against his, inside his own mouth.

"DIE!"

Akane almost lost herself to the kiss but felt the attack coming with enough time to dodge the bonbori, the dazed Ranma left to take the brunt to his chest knocking him back and down.

Shampoo turned on Akane ready to kill the husband thief, but just stared for several moments before her shoulders slumped. Turning to Ranma she began to cry, "Tell Shampoo is lie. Tell Shampoo is Shampoo's Airen, not kitchen wrecker's."

Ranma worked his mouth several times before it finally worked, "I... I'm sorry Shampoo. I just... I mean I think your... we're friends right?... Even if I did choose Akane?"

The gasps from the girls in the window watching their little soap opera unfold brought there attention again, once more pointing to the street, this time at the two older men standing at fence looking in, wearing martial arts gi and broad smiles.

Soun and Genma looked at each other before giving a cry and hugging each other and happy dancing, "YES!"

* * *

Mousse came down the stairs to see Shampoo at one of the tables, sobbing to her great grandmother.

Suddenly worried, he ran forward, "What happened? Who hurt Shampoo?"

-WACK-

Cologne looked down at the boy on the floor from her half hearted blow. Beating up the duck boy should cheer Shampoo up somewhat, she thought to herself. "Young Saotome has chosen the Tendo girl."

Rather than jump up to embrace his love, Mousse shifted to sit up from the floor, his eyes blinking in surprise. "Heh, It was that was easy?"

The question was more to himself at the idea he had gotten Saotome to just up and chose a girl other than his Shampoo, but the two dark, angry, red eyed figures towering over him showed it obviously hadn't been so private.

"What do you mean by that, Muu Tsu?"

-Gulp-

The End.

Came from a thought after reading a fic where Ranma was tricked into admitting how he felt about Akane by Nabiki, that they're so close to admitting it through most of the series he could have tricked himself into it.

Special thanks to Gary Kleppe for proof reading.

Thanks for reading.

Trent O'Donoghue.


End file.
